False Pretense
by Kashim Kururugi
Summary: Nunnally is failing school and the only way she'll pass is extra credit, for said credit she has to watch over an exchange student. Find out how they get along, how the two will get through a rough school life together and why she has been failing school. NunnallyxSuzaku, don't like it then don't read it!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I get tired of these… but… I do not own this show or it's characters. If I did, why would I be writing fanfic for it?

A/N I am… too tired to make any witty comments. I will only say… that it should have been Nunnally with Suzaku rather then Euphy, because Euphy is… arg… I don't know what to call her. I just didn't like her with Suzaku.  
Now... my Japanese is a bit rusty... so... we'll see if I could do any of it right. Haha. This is a test we'll say. If enough people like this I'll make it into a two-shot.

XxXxX

It started out with a trip to the principles office. At least the day had begun normally enough, blue skies, cool summer day, nice breeze, but that soon changed. the trip to the office was normal as well, quiet, a few trouble makers waiting to get chewed out were sitting in the waiting room.

"You get exceptionally high marks in school, but you've been falling behind." The principle said, before flipping open her records and glancing over them.

"Yes… straight A's… except… for lately." The young girl replied, she knew that the principle already knew this. It only left her to wonder why she was talking about it.

"And your brother is away at collage?"

"That's correct." She said and watched the principle write something down real quick.

"Well, Ms. Lamperouge… I would like it if such a good example would be willing to watch over an exchange student for awhile. You would be given extra credit and you wouldn't have to repeat this grade, because it would give you just the push you need."

"Exchange student?"

"Yes. He's fallen behind in his classes actually… so his father insisted he be sent here to learn. I thought you could both work together." The principle stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh." She muttered slowly. "I suppose I wouldn't mind at all…"

"There is one more thing…" The principle informed her. "He doesn't speak a word of English."

"O-oh? None?"

"None."

"Not even a little?"

"Not even a little."

"I see."

"Yes." There was a moment of silence, before the Principle put on a smile. "Don't worry, Nunnally. You'll do just fine."

"Thank you Principle Milly." Nunnally said, smiling a bit. It was comforting to have her brother's old friend as the principle. She knew she could trust her.

Milly hit the buzzer on her desk. "Please, send our friend in, Nina."

The new student entered the room, look for all the worth like a soldier at attention. Milly gave him a smile and he seemed to relax a bit.

"Watashi no namae wa Kururugi Suzaku." He stated, thick in Japanese and she couldn't speak it for the life of her. Only a few words was all.

Nunnally forced a smile, before looking at Milly. "None?" Milly gave an apologetic look. "So… Kururugi?" She attempted to pronounce it, but felt that she failed.

"He's Japanese Nunnally, the family name is given first. Call him Suzaku." Milly correct with a smile.

"Oh, sorry." She held out hand and Suzaku held a goofy smile as he took it. "It's nice to meet you, Suzaku."

"Suzaku-san, Ogenki desuka?" Milly asked, but his expression really didn't change.

"Watashi wa genki desu. Arigato!" He replied. "Anatawa?"

"Genki desu, Arigatou."

"Dou itashi mashite."

"What a charmer." Milly laughed, obviously flattered, but she was easily impressed. Nunnally had no idea what they were saying, so she had to just stand there and force a smile. "Go ahead, you can go."

When Suzaku just stood there a bit confused Milly waved her hand for him to shoo so Nunnally caught his arm and led him with her outside. If not they would probably be there all day.  
Outside the weather was clear with a beautiful blue sky and a gentle breeze that scattered petels from a few cheery blossom trees.

It made him stop for a moment and she thought she saw some minor sadness in his eyes as he watched the pink flowers fall.

"Do they remind you of home?" She asked cautiously and he glanced at her.

"Yukkuri shabette kuremasuka?"

There was an awkward silence as they stood there and she tried to figure out what in the world he had just said. She sighed quietly and waved for him to follow her again.

XxXxX

The weekend ended a bit too quickly for Nunnally, but she was glad it was finally here. Watching over Suzaku was a lot of hard work. What really irked her was the few people that could hold conversations with him, because they spoke some Japanese, yet she couldn't understand a word from him.

She was busy pondering this on the way to class when she ran right into someone, she looked up and frowned a little.

"I'm… sorry Suzaku…"

"Gomenasai." He replied and she winced slightly, wondering why?

"Are you _sure _you don't speak _any _English?" She asked slowly and he tilted his head to the side, before he gave a goofy grin.

"Sukoshi dake."

She reached for his hand and dragged him along with her when the lunch bell rang. He seemed genuinely confused, but there wasn't a lot she could do. She didn't speak Japanese.

As she turned to head in, so managed to trip, preparing to hurt herself seriously if she fell down the stairs, but she didn't fall, she peaked an eye open to see Suzaku had caught her and pulled her away from the stairs carefully.

"T-thanks…" She told him, figuring he didn't even understand, but he smiled and nodded. He could probably guess what she said. "I'm… just really clumsy. Actually… I was born very weak… so I can't do a lot of things. Sorry."

"Saru mo ki kara ochiru." He said and she was silent again.

"We better hurry or we're going to be late. Do you want to have lunch with me? It would save time." She said and watched him furrow his brow. No. He must not have gotten a word of that.

"Mouichido itte kuremasuka?"

"Never mind…" She continued walking and he stayed a few steps behind her. Once they were in the room, she urged him to sit besides her. It didn't take much, he seemed to learn things easily. He had picked up some sort of food, it was apparent he had never seen it before.

He stared at it as if it had grown arms and a head and begun talking to him.

"Korewa nandesu ka?" He looked around the room, ignoring the food completely now as it seemed something was more interesting to him. "Nanji desu ka?"

"Yeah… Suzaku, I'm not getting a word." She said, pouting slightly and he glanced at her when she said his name.

"Sumimasen?"

Nunnally stared at him for a few moments. "Sorry." She said, feeling bad that she couldn't answer him or understand him, but it sounded like a question of some sort.

All of a sudden white exploded and she heard a dull thud, when the white explosion had cleared, she realized somebody had thrown a milk carton at the back of Suzaku's head. He blinked in surprised, but didn't turn around. He looked down at his milk soaked food and just continued to eat.

"Suzaku…" She said quietly, feeling bad for him, before she stood up. "Who did that?" She was met with silence. "You need to leave Suzaku alone."

A couple boys sniggered from across the room and she guessed it must have been one of them. So throughout lunch it wasn't pleasant, she knew it was going to be one of those days.

After she got out of the lunchroom and the school day came to a close, she had to ask him a question that had been bugging her all day. Of course, Suzaku was outside in the courtyard, trying to clean off his uniform jacket that had been marked all over with names.

"Suzaku." Nunnally said softly and he paused.

"Hai?" He continued to clean at it, trying to scrub the red marker out.

"Suzaku… why do you let them do that to you?"

"Aho ni toriau baka." He paused. "Nurenu saki koso tsuyu omo itoe, demo ame futte ji katamaru."

"Please…" She started softly. "please stop letting them bully you. Tell Milly."

"Goshinpai naku." Suzaku waved a hand and smiled gently, but his smile faded slightly when a couple of boys started towards them. He turned and went back to trying to clean his jacket.

"Hey! What are you doing?" One asked and he just ignored them.

"We're talking to you! It's rude to ignore us!" Another said, but he remained silent. The first grabbed a bucket from the wash bin and was about to dump it over Suzaku's head, before Nunnally pushed him. This resulted in him falling over and dumping the soapy water all over himself.

"Leave him alone!" She yelled. The boy sat there for a second, stunned, before he quickly got up.

"You bitch!" He shouted and was about to hit her and Nunnally knew she was too weak and slow to be able to move out of the way in time. Suzaku tripped the boy suddenly and knocked him back. The other two came at him, and he dodged one right as the other went to hit as well and the two ended up slamming their fists together. He grabbed their legs and tripped them.

"Suzaku behind you!"

He didn't have time to dodge when the third boy that Nunnally had originally hit got back up and slammed him into the wash bin.

"What the hell is going on over there?" A teacher ran over and the boys bolted, leaving him to chase after them.

Nunnally quickly kneeled by his side, and as she helped him stand she noticed the blood. "Oh, you're hurt… come with me."

He didn't say anything when she dragged him into a girl's restroom. It was empty anyways. He held a hand over his back, but Nunnally grabbed his hand and pulled it away, pushing him towards the counter slightly.

"Lean over here." She ordered and he braced his hands against the counter as she grabbed an aid-kit from the wall. She lifted his shirt up and cleaned it, 'causing him to wince, before she pressed a clean white bandage over the wound. "There must have been something sharp where you hit your back." She brushed her hand carefully over the bandage once more to make sure it was on well enough.

"Arigatou." Suzaku said and she didn't move or say anything for a few moments, but neither did he.

"Why did you do that? I would have been fine and you wouldn't have gotten hurt. That was a silly thing for you to do. Getting into a fight like that."

"Anata wa totemo shinsetsu desu."

"Whatever that means…" She said quietly, searching his back for anymore cuts. "You better make sure this doesn't get infect. You know?"

His lips twitched up into a smile. "Nunnally… thank you."

She gasped quietly and couldn't find any words. "So… you _can _understand me…"

"Yes, I can." He admitted and she while she could understand, it was a bit hard to hear with his thick Japanese accent.

"Why… did you… do that?"

"I didn't know if I could trust you." Suzaku told her, turning around as she let go of his shirt.

"So… you've heard everything?" She asked again.

"Yes." He replied. "I apologize. You probably wouldn't have said some things to me if you had known I would understand, but… Nunnally… I'll be your strength if you'll let me."

"Why would you do that for me…?" She asked hesitantly. Nothing came without a price.

"Why not?" He countered, before answering. "Because you stood up for me. Because you're my only friend here. I… have never had a friend before, but… I want to take care of you and protect you."

"You don't have to."

"No. I don't." He set his hand on her shoulder gently. "Since we can talk now… could I ask you something?"

"What do you want to ask?" Nunnally wasn't sure she wanted to know. What if he expected something in return?

"You were a straight A student. What happened that you had to get stuck with me for extra credit?"

"Nothing… nothing really… just…" She hesitated. "I miss my big brother."

"I see. I'm sorry, but collage won't last forever, right?"

"Right."

"One more thing…"

"Yes?"

"Let's get out of the girl's bathroom now."

XxXxX

TBC...

So... if you like it and want me to continue leave me a review. Yea, I wanted to end that on a funny note. Ideas are welcome. Thanks for reading, God Bless.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclamier: Yeah, you guessed it. I don't own this.

A/N What can I say...? This turned out very well. Anywho I turned this into a series of one-shots, where there are time skips.

XxXxX

Now that Nunnally knew his secret… she couldn't help, but look at the Japanese boy a little differently and she couldn't help, but think of his words the other day. In class, he still kept up his ruse of not speaking English, but when it was just the two of them, he would hold small polite conversations with her.

For Nunnally… it meant a lot for him to do, not many other students cared to speak with her and with her brother gone she had been all alone, but with Suzaku here… it wasn't quite so lonely anymore, even if she did miss her big brother a lot.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Suzaku tapping his fingers against the able in concentration. She looked over at his homework and shook her head.

"Suzaku…"

"Hmm?"

"You're subtracting…"

"Yes, so?"

"So… you're supposed to be adding…"

A long silence ensured as the two sat unmoving and he stared at the page with the most precarious look she thought she'd ever seen. He looked about ready to blow a gasket.

"You mean… I've done this entire page wrong?"

"Yes."

"Kuso!" He said, unhappily, setting his pencil down to burry his face in his hands and she leaned over the table to see his page again.

"But… look on the bright side, Suzaku… if it had been subtraction… you got at least ninety five percent of it right!" She attempted to cheer him up and he sighed.

"Yes, you're right, Nunnally. I suppose that counts for something."

"Suzaku… can you… see alright?"

"My eye sight is fine it's just… well… I speak English, but… I… can't read it…"

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" She asked and he shrugged. "From now on, will you let me help you more?"

"I don't-…" He looked up at her face, before sighing again. He couldn't fight that face. "Alright. I'll let you help me."

"Well… at least there's no big test. I would be happy to teach you how to read English if you'd like." She told him and he gave her a small smile.

"I would love your help, Nunnally. Thank you."

She closed her schoolbook finally and stood. "You better finish soon. We have a fieldtrip in the morning, remember?"

"Yes, I know." He informed, scowling slightly as he realized he had subtracted. Again. He quickly scratched that number out and put the correct one. She had to bite the inside of her cheek not to laugh at him. "Go ahead and go to sleep. You shouldn't have to stay up, because I made a mistake. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Alright. Goodnight, Suzaku."

XxXxX

Their field trip took them to a cave deep underground for geology. It was a very beautiful place, it was almost like being on another planet. She thought it was amazing to be here in this place, Suzaku on the other hand seemed a bit nervous. She could tell something was bothering him, but knew she couldn't bring it up in front of anyone. He wouldn't be able to tell her.

Eventually the teacher began going on about a part of the cave and Nunnally grabbed Suzaku's arm gently, leading him with her a little far away. Out of earshot.

"What's wrong, Suzaku?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" He looked away from her after that, suddenly hiding whatever emotion had just shown up in his eyes. "Nothing's wrong."

"Please… trust me. I trust you…" She goaded, she'd learned a thing or two from her brother. Her brother always knew how to get people to do what he wanted them to.

"It's just… I don't like… small spaces…" He admitted finally and she took his hand. "My father… used to lock me in the basement and turn all the lights off when I misbehaved."

"Suzaku… that's terrible."

"It's alright."

"It's not alright." Nunnally said and he furrowed his brow. "When I was bandaging up your back… those scars you have… what are they from?"

"I wasn't a good kid, Nunnally. It doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past."

"Did your father do that? He beat you?"

"I deserved it, alright?" He replied, swallowing hard and looked away from her.

"You didn't deserve that!" She argued and he gave her a look that seemed as if he wanted to argue with her about it, but he held his tongue. "What would you have done to deserve it then?"

"I set my glass down to hard at dinner and broke it…"

"Okay… and if you had a child… would you beat him for it?" Nunnally asked and his eyes changed slightly as he thought about his answer.

"No…"

"See? You didn't deserve that."

"You're right, Nunnally." He stated, for some reason his accent seemed a little thicker and the way he said her name sounded a little off. "We should go before we get lost."

"Suzaku, I… need a minute…" She told him and he glanced at her, understand what she meant.

"Let me carry you then. I told you that since you don't have the strength I'll be it for you. I've got more then enough for both of us. I promise."

"No, you don't have to." He turned and kneeled in front of her. "Come on. We don't want to get lost in here do we?"

She hesitated only a few moments, before allowing him to carry her piggyback style. He had to jog to catch up and she was glad she didn't wait or they would have been lost.

"Suzaku, you don't have to run." She tightened her grip around him so she wouldn't fall.

"Shhh." He hushed as he neared the rest of the group, the teacher gave a scolding look.

"Students pay attention, this is no time for you to have little tryst." The teacher informed and Nunnally blushed a few shades of red.

_Oh, no, now everyone will think that Suzaku and I… _she thought with despair. Now she was doomed and he probably was too. So they were pretty much doomed together. Later Suzaku would ask what the word meant and she would blush all over again and brush the question off quickly.

XxXxX

On a weekday, Suzaku had convinced her to come with him to a place he found when off on a morning jog. She was reluctant at first, saying they needed to study, but he managed to talk her into it. Along the way he carried her again, insisting she use his strength. They ended up laughing and giggling the entire way, so she thought it had been worth it to make the trip.

Currently, he laid there besides her under the large willow tree, on his side, supported by his elbow and picked at some blades of grass. The white of his tee-shirt almost looked golden in the small shafts of light that shined through the leaves. She tried to just lie there on her back and look at the blue sky, but Suzaku was interesting to look at. More interesting then the sky.

"You never explained that word to me." He informed calmly, not looking at her and still playing with the grass.

"It's… to hard to explain, Suzaku." Nunnally replied and looked over as him, just as his eyes raised up to hers.

"Try." Suzaku told her.

"It's… like… a tryst… is… something between lovers. A secret meeting."

"You and I aren't lovers." He replied and she wondered what he was thinking. "No, sei."

"Exactly." She said and he looked at her again. Nunnally wondered what in the world he could be thinking about. That looks in his eyes, on his face seemed like he wanted something, she just didn't know what it was. He looked back down at the grass he was picking at.

"Not even a kisu."

"What?"

"Nanimonai." He paused and his eyes went back up to her momentarily. "Nothing."

"Why do you have that look on your face?" Nunnally asked and he furrowed his brow, attempting to conceal his thoughts now.

"What rook?" He wondered and she tried not to laugh at his failed attempted at pronouncing the word look. It sounded funny, but then he just couldn't pronounce L at all. He glanced at her face and frowned. "You're the one with the look."

"I'm sorry… you just… it's l-ook." She attempted to correct him.

"That's what I said." He replied and she shook her head.

"No, you're saying it like r-ook. L… it's almost at the top of the throat when you say it. Look. L-ook. Like… l cook."

"I said that. Yes, rook." Suzaku replied, trying to figure out what she was meaning.

"No, Suzaku!" She laughed. "Say it right!"

"I've said it!" He argued as she couldn't stop laughing. "Why is this so funny?"

"Alright, we'll work on this some other time." Nunnally said, unable to stop smiling at the confused look on his face then. The corners of his lips jumped up finally and he laughed a little himself.

"I can't sat the word, Nunnally." He admitted, before he leaned over her and pressed a sloppy kiss to her cheek, grinning toothily. "You make me laugh, thank you for that."

She flushed a little bit as he rolled back to his place originally, but this time onto his back to look up at the sky, arms behind his head.

"You make me smile, Suzaku… so we're even." She replied and he closed his eyes, smiling a bit to himself.

XxXxX

After their conversation that day, Nunnally did note that Suzaku had been acting a little oddly. She really wished he would just come out with whatever was on his mind and talk to her. Today, however they hadn't really spoken, only napped together under the willow tree.

"Suzaku?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you thinking about right now?" Nunnally asked him and heard his very soft and quiet sigh, before he peaked an eye open and looked at her.

"That I don't want to go home." He replied and looked up through the branches of the tree.

"Is that what's been troubling you?"

"Yes. I want to stay here. With you."

There was another small silence, she was about to ask him another question, before they both heard a meowing and found a black scruffy looking cat rubbing against the tree.

"Oh, the poor thing must be lost." She said and Suzaku sat up and reached over to the cat with a goofy grin. Except the second his hand was close enough the cat snapped and bit his fingers, Suzaku's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything.

"It doesn't have a collar." He stated, grabbing the cat regardless and holding it in his lap, wincing slightly when it bit him again, tail flicking back and forth.

"Are you okay?" She asked, worried about the cat gnawing on his hand.

"Fine. I really like cats, but… they don't seem to like me so much."

"We should take it home with us and see if anyone is looking for him."

"Good idea." Suzaku replied, unable to pry the cat off his hand in the first place. He slowly got up from the ground and offered his free hand to help Nunnally stand.

"Is he still hanging on?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's pretty much attached to me like a leech."

XxXxX

In the coming weeks, nobody had clamed the cat and so know it had nowhere to go, they decided to keep him and ended up calling him Arthur. Now… if there was one thing about their new friend… it was that he just loved Suzaku. He just had a very funny way of showing it.

When Nunnally got back home, she spotted Suzaku asleep on the couch with Arthur curled up on his chest, purring softly in his sleep. It seemed to be the only time he wasn't biting Suzaku. She closed the door very quietly behind her and smiled to herself as he mumbled softly in his sleep. He looked so peaceful.

She wondered if he was really comfortable on the couch, she had offered Lelouch's room, but Suzaku had declined and taken the couch, stating that her brother would need a place when he came home. He was always assuring her that Lelouch was defiantly coming back. She should have probably told him the truth of why she had offered him the room, he might have taken it and not be so worried if she had.

She wouldn't say anything, wouldn't tell him, because Suzaku didn't need to feel sad for her. She wouldn't let him, she thought as she stepped into the kitchen, smiling as she noticed a can of empty cat food. Suzaku always bought Arthur special food. He spoiled the cat rotten.

The ringing of the phone pulled her out of her thoughts and she quickly picked it up, almost tripping over one of Arthur's million toys.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Nunnally…" Milly said slowly and Nunnally frowned slightly. "Please, put, Suzaku on the phone."

"He's asleep… what… what's happened?"

"Nunnally… Suzaku's father… had a heart attack…"

She stood there stunned for a moment or two, before moving over to the couch and setting a hand on Suzaku's shoulder, he peeked an eye open.

"What?" He asked, slowly sitting up, Arthur stretching in his lap. She handed him the phone, unable to speak and he gave her a funny look, before taking it.

She bit her lip as he answered and only a few minutes and his face had gone deadpan. He suddenly looked very pale and the phone slipped from his fingers and he stared at nothing. She quickly grabbed him into a hug.

"Suzaku, I'm so sorry." She whispered, he was worrying her, because he wasn't responding to anything and she had never seen him like this. He slowly pulled away from her and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

XxXxX

The next morning, Nunnally didn't think he would go to school, but he did. They hadn't spoken since last night. He had shut her out to cry alone, she wished he hadn't, but she understood.

It wasn't a good day, he was being picked on again by the kids that thought they were better then him, because he was different. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, he wasn't eating, just pushing food around his plate. She reached under the table and took his hand, lacing her fingers with his and he looked at her for a moment, before squeezing her hand slightly, eyes saying he would be okay.

She hoped it was true. She wanted him to be okay, needed him to be okay, because they both needed each other to be okay.

Once school was over, she stopped him before he could sleep on the couch.

"Suzaku… take Lelouch's room…"

"We've been through this… I can't take the room, where will he go when he comes back?"

"He… isn't coming home. After collage he's marrying his girlfriend… and they're buying a house together. So… he won't come back home." She told him, quickly turning away. She heard him sigh quietly behind her, before he grabbed her into a hug and pulled her into him.

"Why didn't you talk to me about this? You could have said something, I wouldn't have told anyone else you know."

"I know, but you walked away from me the other day."

"I know." He repeated her own words and they were both silent for a moment. "We should stop doing this… and admit when we need help. Nunnally… I'll trust you completely from now on if you'll trust me."

"I'll trust you, Suzaku."

XxXxX

The seasons passed and it would be winter soon. The trees were all changing colors. Yellow, orange and red. It was one of those weekend days, Suzaku was reading some old Japanese poetry to her, normally she would have paid attention, but today she was a little distracted.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as he closed the book with a simple snap of his hand and dropped over to lie down next to her, draping an arm over his eyes.

"What are you thinking, hmm?" He asked.

"Nothing." She said, looked away even though he couldn't see her.

"Lies." Suzaku replied, just about to get up and get an answer, before she stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Wait… it's just… I was thinking… that I… really like you, Suzaku."

"Well of course-Oh. Oh. I see." He reached over and took her hand off his arm so he could move his arm away from his eyes and look at her. She kept her eyes averted and just as he was about to get up, she stopped him again. "What are you afraid of?"

"I don't know what you're doing…"

"I'm making you nervous? Shouldn't I be the one that's nervous right now?"

"I-" She was about to try and speak, try to make it better, but he cut her off.

"Kiss me then." He said and pressed a hand over his eyes. "I won't look."

"I-I can't do that!"

"Why can't you?" He rolled to get up and kneeled in front of her, grinning goofily. "Okay, I'll tell you what… I like you too. So I'll kiss you then."

"Suzaku!" She yelped and he chuckled quietly, leaning closer and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"It's alright. I'm not going to do anything to you that you wouldn't want me to." He stated and she carefully set a hand against his chest. She realized that his teasing was only to cover up the fact that he was terrified as well, she could feel his heart pounding.

"Suzaku… are you afraid too?" Nunnally asked softly and he tilted his head slightly to the side.

"A little." He admitted, reaching down to take her hand, but she stopped him.

"If you don't look… I'll kiss you." She told him and he raised an eyebrow in question, before closing his eyes. She was still a bit surprised he could trust her so much, she leaned forward and as she felt his warm breath on her face she could feel his heart speed up, before she finally did kiss him.

She couldn't say she knew what she was doing, she didn't entirely know if Suzaku knew what he was doing either. He seemed just as flustered as she was and suddenly he wasn't quiet so teasing anymore and rather nervous. She knew it was just a ruse.

"Nunnally…" He licked his lips nervously and she gripped his shirt tightly to silence him. It worked, because he didn't say another word.

"Did you feed Arthur?" She asked rather suddenly and he was confused as to why she was bringing this up, but realized she wanted to go home.

"No." Suzaku replied, frowning a little now. "I'm sorry."

She slowly got up and walked away from him, knowing he wasn't saying sorry about forgetting to feed the cat, if he even really had forgotten. Which he probably hadn't, knowing how thoughtful of a person he was.

XxXxX

That night, Nunnally couldn't sleep. She just kept thinking about Suzaku and how he had said he was sorry and kept giving her that guilty puppy look. Did he honestly think she was mad at him? She couldn't possibly be mad at Suzaku.

She sighed deeply and tossed her blankets off, before going into the other room. He wasn't asleep, because she saw him move when she opened the door. Was he trying to get out of talking with her?

"Suzaku…" She slowly approached the bed. "I know you're awake."

"What is it?" His tone seemed deadpan. She couldn't tell if he was angry or upset or both.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" He finally sat up and stared at her through the dark.

"For earlier… I didn't mean to… seem like I was angry. I'm not angry… it's just… I'm… afraid to get so close…" She said softly.

"I know." There were a few moments of silence before he patted a hand on the bed and she moved to sit down besides him. "We can just be friends… if that's what you want."

"I do want to be with you… I just…" And now she was really lost, unable to think of the proper way to word it, but he reached over and took her hand.

"I won't ever leave you." He told her, meeting her eyes in the dark, before leaning over and kissing her gently. She reached up and touched his face, causing him to draw back a little. "I'll… let you go."

"No. I want to stay." She replied quietly and he didn't say another word about it, simply pulled back the covers for her to get in besides him.

XxXxX

A soft light drifted in through the window, small specks of dust floated through the air some falling to the floor, others floating on farther, before joining their counterparts on the floor. It was… peaceful for Nunnally, especially with Suzaku's warm chest pressed against her back and a protective arm draped around her.

It was so comfortable that she just wished she could lie here all day, thinking about it… they could. It was a Sunday. There was no school and they didn't have anywhere to be.

The warmth of his breath against her back tickled a little. She shifted against him and he mumbled something in his sleep, before she rolled over to face him and found him with a peaceful look that made her not want to wake him. She reached up to stoke his cheek gently and he smiled, rolling half onto her and smirking.

"Suzaku…" she pushed at him. "I know you're not sleeping anymore."

"I am asleep." He whispered, his breath really tickled being so close to her.

"Liar." She scolded playfully and tried to escape, but it was rather useless. He was lying partly on her, not enough to crush her, but enough that she couldn't move. "Come on…"

"No."

"You're evil." She told him and he smirked even more, still unrelenting. Somehow she managed to roll so her back was too him, but he still had her with an arm around her. "Suzaku…" She whined.

"No… just stay." He begged and finally she gave up, letting him get closer to her. "Just… ten minutes."

"Ten?"

"Five?"

"I guess…" Nunnally muttered quietly. "but don't blame me if Arthur is gnawing your leg off, because he's hungry."

Suzaku looked over his shoulder at the cat curled up against his back, before wincing. "Okay, you're right, but still. Five more minutes."

XxXxX

It seemed like a normal day, outside the snow had begun to fall finally, it was no longer October and the leaves had all gone. She was attempting to make dinner (Suzaku had offered, but she told him no) but it seemed to not want to work out today.

Suzaku was playing with Arthur on the floor as usual and she wondered how long it would be until Arthur bit him

"Ouch!"

She winced slightly. Apparently not very long. She glanced up at the time, she had finished dinner right on schedule, despite a few mistakes.

"Alright, dinner is done. I've got to run out. I'll be back later, okay?" Nunnally informed and he gave her a curious look. "Don't get in too much trouble with Arthur while I'm gone."

"Okay." Suzaku seemed a little perturbed, but she knew it was only because he liked being around her and felt a bit lost without her. He admitted it himself.

She was lucky he wasn't a suspicious person, she was sneaking off on these nights to take Japanese lessons from Milly. There was one thing she really wanted to learn to say to him in his own language, just so long as he didn't figure out.

XxXxX

Suzaku had been up all night doing homework and was currently passed out, she knew she should leave him, that he was tired and he needed sleep, but he just looked too cute sleeping peacefully like that.

Again. Nunnally knew she should leave him, he was peacefully asleep and she should let him sleep, but she didn't. She leaned over him, hair tickling his face as she pressed a kiss to his lips. At first, he didn't move, didn't wake up, but then he groaned softly as she brushed her fingers along his belly and as his lips parted she took the opportunity to slip her tongue inside his wet warm mouth, she didn't know why, she just did. And… now he was awake gasping against her mouth again.

"Nunnally?" He was confused, but just as she looked into sleep hazed eyes he kissed her, silencing her. She was surprised; his kisses had only ever been gentle, now it was him that was sliding his tongue along hers. She whimpered into his mouth and he became a little gentler. He finally slowed and pulled away slightly. "I-… are you okay? Is something the matter I mean?"

"I need a reason to kiss you now?" She asked giggling softly. "No, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have woke you up."

"Mmmm. No, it's a really nice way to wake up." He leaned down and kissed her again, while she gripped his white tee shirt to stop him from pulling away. He was so close, but she wanted him closer, still even closer then he was.

"Suzaku… don't stop." She whispered and he stiffened slightly. "I just want to be close to you."

He kissed her again, she slid her hands down his chest to his stomach, and up underneath his shirt, she felt his stomach muscles contract at her touch, his skin… felt soft. For some reason she expected it to feel rough.

"Nunnally…" He breathed, voice sounding rougher and his accent seemed thicker now. "Shinji rare nai."

She briefly wondered if he knew that he was speaking in Japanese and she couldn't understand, before deciding it didn't matter right now and bringing both hands to his shirt. He broke the kiss to peal the shirt off and toss it aside. He shifted and kissed along her jaw softly.

He jerked suddenly and yelped, she was confused, before he reached around and grabbed Arthur off of his back and dropped him onto the floor. Suzaku did his best to ignore the cat bite on his back and moved to press a kiss to her cheek.

"Suzaku… I love you." She told him quietly, so quiet he almost didn't hear her.

"I love you. Nunnally, suki nan da? Aishite imasu." He said gently and she brought her hands up to her face. Her brief lesson with Milly had helped, because she caught the last part. She understood… he needed to tell her he loved her in his own language, because it truly wouldn't have held as much meaning if he had said it in her language.

"Aishite imasu, Suzaku." She whispered gently and he smiled gently, giving her a tender look she had never seen on his face before. It suddenly made her nervous, she was feeling very nervous suddenly and he held another look.

"Anata wa kirei ne." He replied, just as quietly, even if she probably didn't understand. He looked down and pushed her shirt up her stomach, she closed her eyes as he removed it. She didn't really feel comfortable with him seeing her; she didn't know why she should be so nervous now. She couldn't see it, but she could feel as his intrepid fingers mapped her skin. She couldn't really stop now and leave him wanting. It would be terrible to start and not finish, she would feel guilty. "Nunnally, look at me."

When she looked she was met with his dark eyes, but they still held the gentleness in them that they always did and suddenly she wasn't so afraid, nervous still, but not afraid anymore. He gave her a small smile.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked and she shook her head.

"No… Suzaku…"

He didn't say another word as he shifted over her and it really did hurt, but soft, insistent movements held the sparks of something much different from pain and it was just enough to keep her distracted from it, just enough.

"Osoi." He whispered when she shifted against him and winced. She gave him a look that said she didn't understand; he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Slowly."

Even though they were so close, she wanted to be closer, it was impossible, but still she thought as she pressed her fingernails into his spin, still she wanted to be much closer and she didn't have to ask, he didn't have to say it… she could see it in his eyes that he felt the same way.

"Ah… Suzaku…" She whimpered quietly, unable to keep the sound from escaping and she heard him groan slightly, also trying to stay quiet, but the sound sent a jolt to her stomach and she pressed her hands harder into his back, feeling the muscles flex with every movement. "Please…" she whispered, even though she really wasn't sure what it was she was asking for.

"Mmm… Nunnally… I love you so much it hurts…" He stated quietly. "Kekkon shi te kureru? Honki desu yo."

For a moment, she thought about how much rougher his voice sounded in his own language, in English it seemed a bit softer. She didn't have long to think as whatever had built up had finally snapped and she couldn't really think about anything at that moment. And she had thought that whole seeing stars thing was a joke. She could say right now that it really wasn't.

She heard Suzaku make some sort of sound, before he grabbed a fistful of the blanket besides her and ceased all movement. He lowered his face to bury between her neck and shoulder, so she slowly brought her hands up to tangle in his sweat drenched hair.

She felt wet drip onto her shoulder, but it wasn't sweat. He was crying silently, but… he didn't really seem sad.

"Suzaku… are you okay?" She asked and felt him nod slowly.

"Yes, I'm sorry… I just…" He was unable to finish his words and she hugged him tightly to her and kissed the top of his head gently. He sniffed quietly, before rolling onto his side and pulling her into his chest. Suzaku was very clingy, it shouldn't surprise her. She touched his cheek; he reached down and pulled the blankets up over the both of them. Under the cover of total darkness, he brought his hand over to cover hers. "Nunnally… I… want you to marry me."

"S-Suzaku?" She asked in shock and felt his grip tighten just a little. "I'll marry you."

He leaned down and kissed her again, slow and lingering.

"I love you so much, I'm very happy that you want to marry me."

"I love you too, Suzaku." She replied quietly as he pulled her closer. The darkness came and soon they were both comfortably asleep, only dreams of lying together under an old willow tree invaded their sleep and dreams.

XxXxX

Today, Suzaku had forced her into sitting down so that he could cook dinner this time. She didn't want him to, but he absolutely insisted. It was just one of those things. It was eve Christmas. Unfortunately, Suzaku knew nothing about it. He said they didn't really celebrate Christmas there. It was something she thought was rather sad.

The knock at the door startled her out of her thoughts. She assured Suzaku she had it, before opening the door and expecting somebody from school with some odd story or another, but it wasn't anyone she ever expected.

"Lelouch!" She embraced her big brother in a tight hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd surprise you for Christmas." Lelouch replied, he stepped inside and took his wife's hand, leading her inside. "You know Shirley."

"It's good to see you again." Nunnally said and Shirley smiled.

In the other room, Suzaku didn't move. He didn't want to come out and interrupt, but he also didn't know if she wanted him there.

After a few moments she entered the kitchen and they watches one another cautiously.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked slowly.

"I want you to meet my brother." Nunnally replied, taking his hand and leading him outside, where Lelouch and his fiancée were.

"Ah, so this is your friend." Lelouch said smiling, but his smile faded only slightly when he noted Nunnally holding this man's hand. "Is there… something else you wanted to tell me?"

"Suzaku and I… are planning to get married… brother…" She admitted, nervously, she didn't know how her over-protective big brother would react.

"I see." Lelouch said abruptly and it startled her a little. "Mind if I have a word, Suzaku is it?"

"Yes." Suzaku said and the two went outside the apartment.

"Don't worry, Nunnally. I'm sure it's fine." Shirley said, smiling.

XxXxX

After their conversation the two came back in, they all had dinner and Lelouch was really unhappy about the two of them sleeping together in the same room.

"I don't think your brother likes me very much." Suzaku whispered and she looked at him for a few moments.

"That's not true, he just has to get to know you." She set her book aside and leaned over to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "What did you talk about?"

"Oh, just if I ever made you cry, I'd be eating through a straw for the rest of my life. The normal brother stuff."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine." She reached up and stoked his cheek gently to calm him and it worked, like it always did.

"Alright, I trust you." He set a hand over hers with a smile. He finally sat up and looked at the clock when it hit twelve, he pulled out a small box from under his pillow. "I wanted to do this right… Nunnally Lamperouge will you marry me?"

"Suzaku… how did you afford this?" She was in shock, she hadn't expected this from him, she thought they agreed not to do anything expensive.

"Not important." He smiled.

She hugged him tightly, her vision was going slightly blurry and she couldn't believe she was crying right now.

"I love you, Suzaku."

"I love you to." He said, with a smile that you'd need a mop to wipe away, if even that. "Marry Christmas Mrs. Kururugi."

XxXxX

The End.

I have a problem. I have attempted... a glass of lemonade. *le gasp!* Yes... I did. For shame on me. For shame. My first attempt... I hope it is okay. And I must say... I do love the ending. Turned out well... except I feel... weird after the lemon. It doesn't feel right. I might remove that part.


End file.
